Legend of the Maelstrom
by Diabolical Shadow
Summary: Orphaned at birth, Naruto Uzumaki is shunned and hated for a reason he doesnt know. When a stranger comes into his life, he changes it for the better. Along with this stranger he meets other outcasts and strives to become greater than anyone can imagine. Smarter!Stronger!Naruto  AnkoXOC NarutoxHinata
1. prologue

"talking"

'_thoughts/internal dialogue with demon_'

**"demonic/summon speech"**

_**'demonic/summon thought'**_

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><p>For every legend there is a beginning….<p>

But for every legend, there is a cataclysm which makes them a legend.

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It's peaceful in the village of Konoha, and a tall figure with shocking blonde hair paced in his office. '_This isn't good. Not good at all… if what the scouts say is true…then he'll be left alone….' _He just couldn't stop himself from thinking these thoughts as he walked back and forth in his office.

Minato Namikaze 4th hokage of Konahagakure, the village hidden in the leaves, while usually care free; cut a very imposing figure when serious. When he was serious, you could see the turmoil churning in the depths of his cerulean eyes. The experience of war, killing, and the deaths of comrades has left their mark on him. Most would say that he was a total goof ball that they couldn't believe achieved being hokage, yet there were few who could honestly say they've ever seen him so serious and focused. One of those select few was sitting in the window watching his student pace in circles, muttering to himself.

Hearing enough the visitor spoke his mind, "Gaki, if you're going to sit here and cower like a cornered rabbit, then you're not worth the title of hokage."

Minato whipped around. Face twisting into a scowl he spat out, "You have no idea what-"

"You would rather sit here and watch your comrades die and the citizens of your village die a meaningless, painful death?" He continued on without pause. His stern, level gaze never leaving his student. "If you fear death, then why have you put your life on the line so many times? Why have you never given up? Answer me!"

His scowl receding to be replaced with an annoyed look. "To protect those who can't do it otherwise. To protect the ones precious to me!" he replied as if that was obvious.

Leaning back against the wall, light from the sunset glinting off of his horned hitiate. He smiled and said, "Well there you go gaki, now your back…. Remember, your wife is in the hospital right now waiting for you to come back to her… but she understands if you have to do _that _jutsu. Now come here….. I have to tell you what I know about the biju…"

**Later that night**

Minato stood upon a giant orange toad with a pipe in his mouth and giant knife stuck into a swirling chaotic mass of red chakra. "_**Hurry up gaki! I can only hold him for so long!"**_

With his white hokage robes with his trademark flames swirling out behind him, he finished the long chain of hand seals he had been making. Looking down by his feet, he silently said goodbye to the small bundle wrapped up by his feet. "Shiki Fuiin!" As the light from the moon dimmed, the sounds of fighting and any other noise seemed to vanish all together. Slowly, a white specter with long white hair and a knife clamped between its teeth appeared behind him. Sensing the presence behind him, but knowing that even if he did turn around he wouldn't be able to see it if he tried, Minato indicated the target of the jutsu with a nod of his head. The specter shot his arm out and grabbed the mass of red chakra and as it pulled back its arm, Minato directed the arm to pull the chakra through the bundle by his feet. Once it was done, a spiral marking appeared on an exposed part of the bundle, and at that moment Minato collapsed to his knees. With a last sigh, and a faint smile, he whispered, "Everyone is safe now….. As long as you are alive….. you keep destruction at bay… you are the hero I could only wish I could be….." with that said he finally rested his eyes, yet the moment his closed the bundle stirred and a flap on it fell to the side exposing a head of shocking blonde hair and cerulean eyes to the world…

**And that is the first chapter of my story. This idea came to me in bits and peices and my friends told me to go write it down, so here you go. This is my first Naruto fanfiction, so criticism is welcome, as long as its helpfull.**

** review please!**


	2. Beginnings

Disclaimer: i dont own naruto or any other subject i decide to use... i do ownthis plot though, so thats got to count for something right?

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><p>Dreams are the minds way of coping with reality… or is reality the minds way of escaping the dreams that haunt us?<p>

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"Speech"

'_Thought'_

"**Demon/summon speech"**

'_**Demon\summon thought'**_

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…"_Everyone is safe now….. As long as you are alive….. you keep destruction at bay… you are the hero I could only wish I could be….." with that said he finally rested his eyes, yet the moment his closed the bundle stirred and a flap on it fell to the side exposing a head of shocking blonde hair and cerulean eyes to the world…_

_BRZZT! BRZZT! BRZ-SMASH!_

'_Damn it….. Stupid alarm clock. That's the third time this week (sigh)' _The misshapen covers on a twin sized bed slowly started to move and a shadowy figure slowly disentangled itself from their death grip. The figure stretched and, on impulse, dropped down to a knee, allowing a slightly bigger figure to fly above unimpeded, all the while yelling, "GOOOOD MOOORRNNNNNIIINNNNNGGGG, RYUUUUUUUUU!" before the obnoxious wakeup call could even try to attempt a landing, Ryuu had placed all of his weight onto his hands and mule-kicked the intruder out of the window that was situated above his bed.

"Well there goes my quiet morning….." Ryuu mumbled running a hand through his medium length, unruly red hair. Looking back at his night stand, he saw the remains of his once faithful, persistent alarm clock. _'Hehe…. Looks like you need a good burial, huh?'_ Grabbing an empty shoe box, Ryuu scooped up the broken bits and changed into his school uniform. After buttoning up the last button on his jacket, he grabbed his satchel and headed downstairs.

Upon arriving on the bottom floor he heard his father's voice as he complained about how his mum was pulling the shards of glass out of his backside. "Well if you wouldn't do that every day, then he wouldn't have a reason to kick you out of the window, Hun" a sweet, melodic voice chided, silencing his father's cries for pity. Pushing open the door to the kitchen, Ryuu saw his father draped over the counter with his mom behind him with tweezers and a bucket that already had a few large chunks of glass in it. "Hey honey! You might want to hurry; you're going to be late." His mother looked up revealing her heart shaped face and vibrant purple eyes to him. Her smile brightening even more when she realized he was wearing his new school uniform. "My my… don't you look handsome. You're going to have to beat the girls off of you at this new school aren't you?" he had to say, he didn't look all that bad. His new uniform consisted of black slacks, white button up shirt, and black dress jacket with silver buttons and red lining. As an optional, or better yet mandatory, item was a tie that was graciously placed in the uniform box as well as the school handbook that he had already leafed through. In about three places on the first page it had even stated that any student not following dress code will be punished, and just to be sure he didn't get punished the first day at the new school he decided to wear the fashionable noose.

Looking at the clock on the oven, Ryuu casually asked, "What time does this school start?" deciding it was time to make an entrance, his father raised his head and calmly stated, "In about fifteen minutes."

"!" watching the cloud of smoke in his sons once occupied spot Ryuu's dad, Kenji, stated with an amused look on his face, "you know, after seeing that, I think he just did shunshin on instinct….YEE-OOUUCH! DANG WOMAN! WATCH WHAT YOU PULL WITH THOSE THINGS!"

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Most people would say the streets of Ryuu's town to be confusing and ever winding, but for Ryuu, as long as he had a direction he could get somewhere with ease. Unlike other people, he didn't walk the streets; he took what his grandfather called "the forgotten road". Otherwise known as the roofs. His grandfather taught him how to free run up until he was too frail to do it himself. Even then Ryuu still knew that if it came down to it, he was still no match for his grandfather in terms of speed, or strength. _'DAMN IT! My first day and I'm already almost late….'_ Leaping across an alleyway, Ryuu suddenly grinned and started leaping even faster and faster. To most people he would be a blur, but to those who could see he was still jumping fast enough to look like he wasn't touching the roofs or walls. This is what he enjoyed, being able to cut loose and test himself, to just lose himself in it until he felt like he was flying. Add in some aerial maneuvers and wall runs, most would think he was a ninja or something like that.

Of course, things must come to an end, as all good things do. The roofs started to run out and in the distance he could see his new school. It was a tall building surrounded by a forest that just teemed with life. Above it flew a banner that displayed the school's coat of arms, two serpentine lizards, one black and one white, entwined around a sword. Approaching the school at top speeds, Ryuu leaped with all of his might and landed across the street that divided the buildings and the school. Rolling through his landing, Ryuu popped up and dusted himself off. Loving the fact that his uniform actually breathed and wasn't stuffy, he looked at his watch. _'Five minutes to go… damn I love the rooftops.'_

Walking up the steps to the Academy, Ryuu realized that he didn't even have a schedule yet. As he walked into the Academy, he noticed something…. There weren't any signs! Muttering to himself, Ryuu chose a direction and went that way.

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><strong>back at the house…..<strong>

Shortly after Ryuu had left, and Kenji had finished having the shards of glass removed from his rear, Kenji and his wife, Tsuki, had sat down to discuss some stressing news.

"He's on our trail again. I don't know how far back he is yet, but he's definitely coming for us." Tsuki stated in a somber voice. "Do you think Ryuu will be ready?"

"Well even with me masking my presence and not giving anything away, he still managed to kick his old man out of a second story window off of pure instinct. So I would say that he can at least manage to fight enough to survive…..hopefully." Kenji replied seriously over his steepled hands. Gone was the joking carefree goofball nature, and out came the cold, hard warrior who would do anything to keep his family safe.

"I hope you're right honey, I'd hate to put him through such pain," she said while she gently leaned into Kenji and he silently wrapped his arms around her. Looking down at her, he brushed her obsidian curls out of the way of her face and gently said, "If anything happens at least he won't be alone."

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"FUUUUUUCK!" Ryuu shouted as he bolted down the hallway. Just a few seconds ago he had opened a door thinking he had found the main office and what did he see just after he opened it? A pack of hungry damn wolves that's what! Turning a corner he barely stopped in time from implanting himself in a wall. _'Shit it's a dead end! What do I do? What do I-'_

**Relax….. Concentrate and relax. It will come to you….**

"Who's there!" looking around, he couldn't see anyone. The wolves were almost at the corner, they had stopped running but that didn't mean they stopped coming. They knew they had him trapped, they could take their time.

**Relax… remember all that you've learned… clear your mind….**

'_Right clear my mind. That'll be easy with me about to die!... Clear my mind... clear my mind….' _His mind slowly stopped running at a million miles an hour and he slowly slipped into a defiant fighting posture and readied himself for a fight for his life. As soon as the first wolf leaped at him, Ryuu whipped out a devastating kick that caught it in the side, but as soon as he felt the impact of his leg on it, it poofed into a small stuffed animal. And with that a slow clapping started, echoing and as it started the rest of the wolves poofed into nonexistence. Around the coner came a blonde man in a white trenchcoat, smiling all the while, his hands moving in that slow clap. With a huge grin the man finally spoke "Well aren't you a talented one? You were so close to failing your entrance test, but I guess no one told you anything about this did they? oh well, at least you calmed down enough to think about your survival." With a flourish the man turned around and started to walk down the hallway into the room from which the wolves had come from. Turning to look back the man grinned and stated happily, "welcome to your first class….. hmmm I seem to have forgotten your name. oh well ill learn it when you tell the rest of your class about yourself. Come now, don't want to be late do you?"

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Across the street from Ryuu's house there is an old church. Essentially gothic in style, yet it had many oriental twists. On one of the towers is a ball, suddenly there is a tear in the fabric of the world and a cloaked masked man steps out of the tear and kneels on the ball. Gazing intently across the street, this masked man started to chuckle to himself as he slowly stood back up and let the sunlight run across the mask. The sun outlined the single red whorl in the orange mask around the only eye hole, the right one. "so you thought you could hide forever from me? I don't think so…."

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><p><strong>hello again! im back with my new chapter for this fic. sorry for the delay but when your anti-spyware software people decide that you need to re-buy their software, they send you an email asking if you want it... AND GIVE YOU A DANG VIRUS SO THAT YOU HAVE TO BUY THEIR SOFTWARE! but enough about me. hope you enjoyed the cliffie, slightly obvious yet most probably didnt catch it. next chapter!: information on whats going on and who exactly is Ryuu and his parents, and why does this mysterious figure in a mask want them so bad?<strong>

**you know what to do, R&R!  
>ja ne,<strong>

**DiaSha  
><strong>


	3. Duels, Tests, and Crazy People

**hey, sorry about the wait guys. I got caught up in family matters and vacationing but things have finally settled down a lot. (hooray!) I've had a lot of ideas bouncing around in my head during this break so you'll definitely have some great stuff coming soon. So on with the show!**

**Disclaimer:**

**... do i really have to do this? i'm pretty sure kishimoto isn't a highschooler or ginger, so you lawyers back the heck up.**

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"Speech"

'Thought'

"Demon/summon speech"

'Demon\summon thought'

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**Konoha, 3 years after Kyuubi**

All was quiet in Konoha as a lone Anbu patrolled silently among the rooftops. However, not everything likes to be quiet in the dark... As the sound of fighting reached the Anbu's ears, she groaned silently. _'Just a few minutes longer and i would've been off my shift.' _So quickly turning around, the Anbu silently followed the sounds of flesh hitting flesh. As a patrolling ninja, any type of fighting observed had to be monitored in case there was a threat to harm the other fatally. So landing at the edge of the rooftop overlooking an alley way, it was safe to say that this Anbu was shocked to see a fellow Anbu mercilessly beating on a group of 6 ninja. Quickly jumping down into the alley, the patrolling Anbu landed just as the last ninja fell to the ground unconscious. Noticing the new presence arriving, the second Anbu looked up. This allowed the moonlight to shine across the mask, revealing the visage of a weasel.

"What the hell is the matter with you Weasel!" The furious Anbu shouted at Weasel as he knelt down and started removing headbands from the unconscious heap of groaning flesh. Looking over after tying up the unconscious ninja, he simply tossed the headbands over to the other Anbu.

"Take care of those for me, Neko-chan. I've got some other, more important things to deal with." Was the only reply that the newly identified Neko got. Walking over to Weasel, she got into his face. "I swear if you didn't have a real purpose for this, then you're going to hate your next training session." With her already short temper, well short when Weasel had a part in it, hearing a couple cans across the alley clatter as they rolled across the ground had her whipping out a kunai and turning around expecting a fight. It only took her a second to realize that, instead of the ninja her chakra sense was telling her was behind her, she only saw a small little boy with spiky blonde hair and a slightly dirty face with a bruise forming beneath his left eye. Even then, in the shadows of the ally she almost could barely see that he had three "whisker" lines on each cheek.

Neko felt a hand envelop the hand that was holding her raised kunai, and slowly brought it down. Leaning in close, Weasel whispered in her ear, "Like I said Neko-chan... There are other matters I need to attend to." With that he walked over to the blonde boy, and placed his hand on his shoulder. Suddenly, the boy grinned a great, foxy smile and quickly said, "bye-bye cat-lady!"

And in a poof of smoke, the duo was gone.

Smiling at the boys antics she turned back to the group of ninja on the ground, Neko sighed. _'You definitely owe me one Weasel.'_

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><p><strong>Back with Ryuu<strong>

Ryuu was starting to wonder whether or not he even needed to come to this academy or not. _'I mean sure preps, jocks, and nerds were the norm at any school, but seriously? Crazy chicks with bokken able to challenge any who they think disrespected them?What kind of madness is this?' _Ryuu ducked under the swing of a bokken of one of the 'crazy chicks'. Sure he could rub people the wrong way, but looking around a courtyard and then sneezing is _not_ a way to disrespect someone. Last time he checked at least. Parrying a blow from the right with the bokken the girl had tossed at his feet prior to the attempted beat-down she had planned. Ryuu took a step back as she did a vertical strike towards the ground. Not anticipating that he'd take that step, she over balanced and her bokken struck the ground. Not giving her a chance to start swinging again, Ryuu stepped back forward and trapped it on the ground with his foot. With two quick 'taps' to the inside of her elbows, she was forced to let go of the bokken. Letting out the breath he didn't realize he'd been holding, Ryuu gently tapped the junction of her her neck and collar bone. Knowing that he'd beaten her after 10 minutes of just dodging around her attacks, no attempt to block or strike back, made her angry, but he had shown her he was just as good or better than her just by that alone.

Looking at her with his green eyes, Ryuu simply said, "Ryuu Uzumaki." Puzzled at this for a moment, she finally replied, "Yukie Matsumoto." Grinning at Yukie, he knelt down and picked up the bokken that was still trapped under his foot. He tried to hand them both back to her, but she simply denied the one he had used and took back hers. A few seconds after he had handed hers back, the bell rang. When she turned and started to walk off, he asked, "Why wont you take it back?" She stopped and turned her head to grin, "because... you just might tick someone else off too. Its best to be prepared." and she turned and jogged off around the corner.

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_'Swaying in the beat of the wind, thriving with the heartbeat of the world... man, i need to stop watching those nature documentaries so much.'_ Ryuu thought as he stared idly out the window of his class' window. He could just barely see past the swaying branches to the clearing where the academy's kendo team was going through practices. He glanced down to his satchel by his side and sighed. He had stuffed the bokken Yukie had given him under the straps on the flap of it, but even then he had people glaring at him for the sole reason he had beaten one of their best when he hadn't even been here the entire trial week. A nobody that waltzed in and had a great accomplishment, and he wasn't even specialized in anything yet! _'Yeah, great achievement my ass' _And to make matters worse, he had been stuck in classes he couldn't blow off any energy in. In his old school, he at least had a gym class that he could expend _some_ energy in. Now he just had before and after school to do that. Suddenly, the door was kicked in with a resounding crash, and revealed a giant of a man with his foot still raised. This man slowly lowered his leg and walked in and looked over the class with a gaze that just screamed, _"go on, run... it'll be fun chasing you down like the prey you are"_. This man was at least 6' 4", and built like a wall. He was wearing black jogging pants and a sleeveless black muscle shirt with a white stripe going down the left side of the front. All of this was accented by the scary smile and the black spiky hair with little bells on the tips. Then the "mountain" spoke, "Which of you is Ryuu Uzumaki?" With a single uniformed motion, the entire class turned and pointed to him. With a grin that would scare a demon, and a turn of his head, the mountain simply said, "I'm taking the gaki. Headmaster wants to see him."

"Aah no problem at all, Kenpachi-san." His professor, the man he met before this morning, Urahara Kisuke, said while waving a small white fan that he had planned to peg Ryuu with for not paying attention. With the final permission from Urahara, Kenpachi walked over to Ryuu who still hadn't stood up and grabbed him by the neck of his uniform. Having just barely enough time to grab his bag, Ryuu was unceremoniously dragged out of the class room. All the while, he was made to hit each and every desk on the way out while Kenpachi feigned not realizing it was happening.

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**outside headmasters office**

Having been dragged all the way to the office, Ryuu was finally dropped on a bench beside two large oaken doors. "Sit here until someone comes to get you." and with those final words, Kenpachi strode through the doors into the office. After he was sure he was alone in the hall way, Ryuu vigorously dusted himself of the dirt that had accumulated through his journey through the school. after a good solid 2 minutes of cleaning, Ryuu sat back down and realized that to his knowledge, he wasn't in trouble. Sure he had that fight with Yukie, but even the teacher in the courtyard hadn't said it was against the rules. So doing what he usually did when bored and had energy to burn... he started doing pushups.

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**20 minutes later**

"1,052...1,053...1,054..." The double doors opened and a man with white hair in an older style with a thin mustache wearing a white turtle-neck and black dress pants walked out. "1,059...1,060... 1,061"

To say that he was shocked would be a bit of an understatement. They had expected him to be sweating bullets out here waiting for them to let him into the office. (though he was sure that the headmaster had a hunch this was going to happen) "Will you please stop that young man? This isn't exactly the place for that." He calmly stated as he extended a hand to help the boy up. Giving the boy time to retrieve his bag, he escorted the boy into the office. As they were walking in the man subtly patted him on the back to remove some dirt he had missed, earning him a quickly whispered, "Thanks."

Walking into the head office, Ryuu saw something that shocked him. "You! You're... the guy my dad plays chess with!" This statement earned him a small chuckle from the older man sitting behind the desk. As Ryuu walked forward he was able to read the nameplate situated on the desk, "Shigekuni Yamamoto-Genryusai". He was an _older_ man, most likely mid-seventies, late 60s, with a long beard that was kept under control by thin leather bands that criss-crossed down. He simply wore a mature version of the academy uniform with a white tie. Kenpachi was leaning against the wall next to a substantially smaller woman who had her black hair in two long braids ending tied to a ring on each one. Leaning forward and steepling his fingers, Yamamoto started to speak.

"I'm sure you are wondering why you are here, yes? The reason is simple. during the probationary week of a new students enrollment, we set up a series of..._tests_. These tests are made to understand what the student is bound to specialize in the future based off of their skills and occasionally, their attitudes. Throughout the week, these tests are applied to the new student, however they are not always a pass-fail test. You haven't even been here a whole day and you've been through over twenty already, although the most important of these are just narrowed down to 4 separate tests. Are you understanding what Ive said so far?" Yamamoto paused for a reply.

"Yeah... Probation week is testing week, and Ive been subjected to tests all day unknown to me... that about cover it?" Ryuu coolly replied with some disbelief laced throughout. Yamamoto grinned, _'nailed it on the first try... Albeit quite bluntly, but you _are_ you dads son...'_ "Yes, that covers it all actually. So may I continue?" Yamamoto replied with a small smile tugging at his lips, and waited a polite second to see if Ryuu had any questions so far. Ryuu just nodded and gave the universal sign for 'Go on", his hand waving like it was reeling in a fish. "Alright then... Now where was I?... Oh, yes. The four tests. Now the first test you faced was not a Pass/Fail test. This test was administered when you first walked through the doors of this academy. As you might of noticed since you arrived, all the signs and directories have been reinstalled in the hallways. That was only part of the first test. when you were enrolled you were given your homeroom class number but nothing else, this was to lead you to, or close enough to, the start of the second part of the test. When you were chased by the wolves, you had one of two options... You could continue to run until you were too tired to move and then take what came to you, or you could fight back and defy till the end. Now between everyone in this room, me knowing your father, I knew that the second option is the one that you would take." Here at this last part, Yamamoto allowed himself a chuckle or two. "The point of this test was to determine your resolve and will in the face of danger."

At this point, Ryuu had a question. "But the wolves were fake! Yet they felt so real! I could feel their breath, i could smell them!... Shoot, I actually kicked one! How is that possible if they weren't real old man?"

At this the woman at Kenpachi's side finally spoke up. "You will watch how you speak to your elders boy! Now if you really want to know how that was done then go get the answers out of your father. Now watch your-"

With a gentle but stern tone, Yamamoto cut her off. "That is enough Soi Fon. It's good to have someone remind me how old I am every once in a while." Turning his gaze back to Ryuu,"but it will not be a privilege that will be abused." He finished in a No-Nonsense tone. A couple seconds later his gaze softened and he began again. "The second test was in your second class when a student-aid disguised as a student had asked you to pass a note across the room for her."

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**2nd period, study hall**

"Psst! Hey Ryuu, can you help me out for a sec?" A raven haired girl whispered over to him across the aisle between their desks. "Sure, what do you need?" he whispered back to her while keeping an eye on their hawk-eyed instructor. He had already spotted Ryuu doodling discreetly from across the room. With the pretense of going into her bag for something, the girl subtly dropped a folded piece of paper within range of his foot. As she acted like she was digging around for something, she whispered, "See that girl across the room? I need you to help me get this to her. But I'm not all that good at sneaking around, so i need you to do it. Can you help me?" All this time Ryuu had been watching their instructor, and he pondered whether or not to accept this "mission". Then with an unspoken answer and small grin sent to the girl, he slid his foot over to the note and pulled it to himself.

_'Now, to figure out how to get this over there... hmm, we're not allowed out of our seats for any reason except for the bathroom, but that's not good because I'm on the side with the door. The 'target' is on the other side where the window is...' _At the time he was thinking this, someones pencil lead snapped. With quick strides, the instructor walked over and held out his hand. The student who's pencil broke handed over the useless pencil and the instructor swiftly made his way to the front of the room. Once he had reached his desk in the front of the class, he started to sharpen the pencil in the electric sharpener... with his back to the class. _'That's it! Now how do I distract him long enough?... hmm... (light-bulb appears) I think i have an idea.'_ With a mischievous grin, Ryuu grabbed his pencil. A twist _here_. A twist _there_. Firmly tug on the lead, being careful not to bend it, and out slid the lead from his pencil. **(note: This is harder than it sounds, but it can still be done. It just requires patience.)**Sticking it in, but leaving enough for him to still hold onto, he set it against his paper, and pushed. _SNAP! _Just like before, the instructor quickly walked over to Ryuu and held out his hand. With a flourish that was slightly more extravagant than needed, Ryuu handed over the pencil, minus the stick of lead of course. With quick, purpose-filled strides, Mr. Instructor walked back to the sharpener and started to sharpen Ryuu's pencil. The moment he heard the sharpener start, Ryuu was out of his seat and sneaking as fast as he could across the back of the classroom.

Stopping only when Mr. Instructor pulled out the pencil to check it, Ryuu steadily made his way to the other side of the room. Stopping behind a desk, Ryuu thanked whatever deity out there in charge of his luck... Then cursed them to the pits of bloody hell. His 'target' was in the back of the class, luckily, but he had to do it so that she didn't know it was him. Otherwise, he would get in trouble and so would the girl that sat next to him. Ryuu looked over at the instructor. '_He's getting frustrated. I don't have much time...' _Then, as if something had heard him, the girl started to space off while looking out the window. Dashing quickly over, Ryuu gently slid it underneath her slightly cupped hand. With quick steps, he backtracked to his seat and sat back down. Albeit, just in time too. less than a second after he sat down, Mr. Instructor turned around and walked back to him. As he was handing over a new pencil, he just said, "Make sure you don't break this one."

Walking away, he calmly snatched a manga out from inside someone's text book. Turning his head to the side, Ryuu grinned and gave the girl next to him a thumbs up.

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" Oh yeah! I remember her... she was an aid?" With a dejected look Ryuu hung his head. "She was so cute too... but if she's an aid, then there's no way she'd spend a moment- mumble mumble" With a collective sweat drop upon hearing that, the occupants of the room allowed him a moment to wallow in his self-misery. clearing his throat, Yamamoto snapped Ryuu out of it.

"Now Ryuu... If you would pull yourself together..." Seeing as how he wasn't listening, Yamamoto's eye started to twitch with annoyance. Suddenly out of nowhere, a large tome flew into Ryuu's forehead. This caused his head to snap back with the force of the throw... and flip over backwards. Soi Fon raised an eyebrow as Ryuu seamlessly went with the impact and while in the air, flawlessly performed a flip and caught the chair before it fully fell to the ground. _'interesting... perhaps he does have some amount of talent...' _Slowly standing up Ryuu rubbed his forehead where the book had hit, only to be driven back to the floor again by the same book as it landed on his head. _'or maybe not...'_ Yamamoto let out a small chuckle as he watched Ryuu slowly peel his face from the floor and sit back down in the righted chair.

Leaning forward, Yamamoto began speaking again. "Well now that you have rejoined us, let us finish this meeting with as few interruptions as possible. Now, where was I? Ah yes... the second test. Now when you had completed this 'mission', you had showed a great deal of ingenuity and fast thinking. Even though you could have just thrown it at her like your father would have, you went over the top and hand delivered it to her. This entire test was to test, of course, your ability to plan ahead and above all, to test your how well you can accomplish a stealthy goal.

"During your break between your midday classes, you somehow managed to get yourself in a bit of a confrontation. By disrespecting Yukie Matsumoto-"

I didn't disrespect her! I sneezed! I didn't even see her until _that_ bokken," Ryuu gestured at his satchel on the ground next to his chair. "Got thrown at me!" Slumping back in his chair, Ryuu let out a deep sigh. For once, things fell into place. "It was that note, wasn't it? I thought one of those girls looked familiar." Yamamoto let one of his eyebrows slowly lift up. _'like his father indeed…. No prompting at all and yet he still managed to put all that together….'_ With a sagely nod, Yamamoto continued.

"Through the staged note that you unknowingly passed to one of her close friends. Even though you were completely caught unawares by the duel, you were able to expertly defeat Yukie." Then, with a snort Kenpachi stated, "Expertly my ass. Give an ape a stick and it'd beat this boy. All he did was run around and then stumble onto her bokken. Shoot, he probably couldn't even land a decent hit on me if I sat there unarmed!" Lacing his hands together behind his head, Ryuu calmly said, "I accept your challenge."

Seeing a conflict brewing, Yamamoto quickly attempted to reign it in. "Now now…. You can duke it out next week during your class." Turning to Ryuu, he continued. "Now even though it is usually looked down upon, you shall be receiving your new schedule at the conclusion of this meeting. Now as I was saying, that impromptu test was staged in order to see what your aptitude for combat is. However, me knowing your father, I didn't have any doubts that you would 'pass' this test." That said, Head master Shigekuni Yamamoto-Genryusai handed Ryuu a simple slip with his classes on it and he was dismissed. As Ryuu was walking out, satchel slung over his shoulder, he turned and asked a question that had been bugging him. "You said there was four tests…. You only explained three… What's the fourth?"

With a sly grin, Yamamoto slipped a tube out of a drawer in his desk and, with a tone that was telling of restrained amusement, stated, "That is the fourth test. You have till Monday to figure it out."

* * *

><p><strong><span>Hokage Tower- Night of the beat down in alley<span>**

Sarutobi Hiruzen, known as the God of Shinobi or simply The Professor, was having an uneventful night. He had managed to get a small pause in the bane that was evil to all Kage, paperwork, and was simply enjoying some of his students literature. Albeit perverted literature, but everyone has their ways to cope. However, as all good things must, his private break was disturbed. Sensing the chakra 'hook' that signified a shunshin, he quickly stashed his novel and straightened out his appearance. Arriving directly into the Hokages office was a privilege only granted to a handful of people. When the small poof of ninja smoke that accompanied the technique when bringing more than one person happened, there was a small pulse of chakra through one of the small seals on his desk. Easing the kunai he had hidden in his sleeve back into the holster in said sleeve, Sarutobi awaited the reason for this interruption. You can understand why he was shocked when a small yellow haired boy cried out "Jiji!" and gave him a beaming, fox-like smile. With a stern glare, Sarutobi turned to the Anbu next to him and harshly said, "Report."

Snapping to attention under the God of Shinobi's stare and leaking KI, Weasel quickly gave the report of what had happened tonight. "As of 21:32 tonight, Naruto Uzumaki was, again, roughly kicked out of the orphanage. This has happened on quite a few occasions and, this time, has resulted in Naruto receiving a beating. At 21:37, five minutes after being kicked out, A group of chunin and one jounin arrived and attempted to, I quote, "Show the demon some respect." Once their intentions were clear, I moved to intercept and was met by force. In self-defense, I incapacitated all 6 shinobi and temporarily removed them from their duties."

With a small nod, Sarutobi accepted this report. Looking back up from the written report that was given to him, he asked, "Where are these shinobi now?" Looking back up from the mission report that he just signed, Weasel told him. "they are currently in the custody of Neko. She is currently taking them to Ibiki as we speak." Sarutobi grinned, _'Ibiki's going to be in a good mood tomorrow.'_ "Very well, you are dismissed Weasel." Weasel saluted, then disappeared in a smokeless shunshin.

Turning to the amazed blonde sitting in one of the chairs, he cleared his throat. The unexpected sound snatched Naruto's attention from where the Anbu had just stood. Standing up, Sarutobi smiled warmly at his pseudo grandson. "Now Naruto-kun, what do you say to a bowl of ramen and then you can stay at my place for then night and we can see about getting you somewhere to live tomorrow?" He might as well of just stopped at ramen because Naruto was off like a shot the moment he heard the offer. The echoes of him yelling trailed behind. "WHADDYA WAITING FOR JIJI? ITS GONNA GET COLD!" Then the less heard chant as he was already out in the hallway, "RamenRamenRamenRamenRamenRam enRamenRamen!" Hiruzen smiled at that, and as he was leaving, looked at a picture on the wall. _'he's just like her, but mention ramen and I swear its like you possessed him.'_ With that, he went and joined one of his favorite blondes in his quest for the 'holy ramen'.

* * *

><p><strong>I know that this took a while, and you're going to have to get used to it. next chapter might come out in a day or maybe a year. Other than that, enjoy and review. i like to hear feedback<strong>


	4. My World Falls Apart

It's been a week since I was called up to headmaster Yamamoto's office, and I still haven't figured out the stupid riddle he had given me. First of all, he had stuck it in a combination-lock tube that I just barely got open. And now it's a stupid riddle filled with meaningless directions! Things such as, _"standing under the one-eyed giant with a broken blade...", "beware the spiral for the Mad Hatter roams..."_, and the most confusing of all... _"on a knife's edge his mind balances, saved by one of honor, given purpose by those of hate."_

I couldn't even start to make heads or tails of it, but I didn't have time for that; I was going to be late! Rushing through the kitchen, sliding under my dad's "surprise" flying kick, and grabbing my book-bag, I quickly ran to the academy. Quickly looking at my watch, I decided that I should take the "high road".

I made quick time, and was actually a little early! So settling into my seat, I put the riddle out of my head and enjoyed the little precious time I had to relax before the cacophony of school started.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

**8 hours later**

With a hiss of escaping air, the smell of a couple _really_ full vacuum bags bursting open, and the pop of a soda can all rolled into one, a tear in the fabric of the world appeared suddenly out of no where above the bell tower of the church across the street from Ryuu's house.

_'Heh, let the games begin..._' thought the strange stranger as he calmly walked out of the tear as if it was the most normal occurrence of life. Then, abruptly, he stood up a little bit straighter, sunlight reflecting off an Orange-whirl mask. Then, without further hesitation, sent a fireball the size of a mini-van flying towards the house with a sharp out burst of breath and a murmured "**gogakyu no jutsu**."

"Ai-yaahh! I'm tired! Kenpachi-sensei sure didn't hold back today, did he Rangiku-chan?" I groaned out as I walked and stretched out my sore muscles from the brutal "practice" (cough-torture!-cough). Matsumoto Rangiku, third year student of the academy, and lethal with a sword. (It also helps that her "girls" are bigger than most guy's heads.) In the week since I've been commandeered to the kendo club, she's the only one who hasn't tried taking off my head just for breathing. We found that we lived in the same area about five minutes ago, though it wasn't exactly pleasant... Let's just leave it at that, I'm trying to repress that memory...

Reaching over and snagging my head with her arm, Rangiku pulled me face first in her Valley of the Gods. All the while going on about how I was *so strong*.

With a tomato-red face, I pushed myself away and gulped down the sweet, life-giving air. "Geez.. a little warning next time?"

"No. And he did hold back Ryuu-kun. If he didn't, you'd just be a smear on the ground. I'm surprised you actually ,almost, kept pace with him!" She didn't have any sarcasm in her voice this time. Hearing her words, I started to scratch my head in embarrassment. "Well, I'm an Uzumaki, we never give up!" I proudly stated, ending with a thumbs-up and a cheesy smile in place.

We kept our faces straight for exactly 3 seconds, then we both doubled over in laughter. After sobering up a decent amount, we continued on in comfortable silence. After a while, Rangiku asked something that she just noticed, "Hey, Ryuu-kun?" I gave a small grunt to show I was listening. "What's up with your bokken? Did you draw that?" She ran her hand over the illustration on the side of my bokken that I had, once again, pushed through the straps on the top flap that allowed it to be fastened closed.

Last night I had taken a black sharpie and drawn two tribalesque dragons, one on each side, with one being just outlines, symbolizing a white one, and a completely filled in one, obviously a black dragon. "Yeah, I did."

She continued to run a finger down the outline. "this is really good... I didn't know you were a such great artist." She continued on in an amazed tone. Looking up, she continued in in a mischievous whisper, "Do you want to draw me? No one is home." With that I noticed that this pose gave me a _great_ view of her ample chest. She gave a big grin as I jerked back, shocked and speechless. Letting out a big chuckle, she turned and walked away, with her hips sashaying and a small wave goodbye, down her street.

I sat there, just staring, for a few more seconds then stiffly walked away, images of her posing for me to draw swimming through my head. Now, not long after, my good senses kick started once again and I banished those perverted thoughts to the back of my mind.

I continued on and soon smelled wood-smoke. *'Looks like somebody's having barbeque for dinner'. * My stomach grumbled loudly in protest to these thoughts, and I sped up my pace. Turning around the bend, I realized a tragic piece of information... There wasn't a barbecue going on, someone's house was on fire. *'Wait a second! That's my house! Mom! Dad!' * In a flash, I was off like a rocket. Legs pumping hard, heart pounding, I crossed the half mile stretch in under a minute.

Sprinting across the grass, I heard a scream... A woman's scream! With a flying leap, I lashed out and knocked the front door off its hinges. Landing in a roll and coming up in a crouch, I realized that I was partially in the living room and had a clear view of everything. My mother was being held by the throat by a stranger in an orange-whirl mask as he turned to me surprised, and my dad was in a heap of debris halfway in the kitchen that had fallen through the ceiling. Anger burned through my mind and, without thinking or hesitation, I leaped at the man and whipped out my bokken in a swing meant to hit his arm with enough force to shatter it. His other arm blurred, small black blurs leaping from it, and my swing actually saved my life. Four of the blurs slammed into the wood and I was able to see that they were actually throwing knives, but if they hadn't of stopped, they would've tore right through my chest. Though it was slowed down by the impact, my strike still hit with enough force to make him drop my mother.

Mask-guy backed off he was cradling his elbow as if I had broke it. My mother, gasping for air, pulled me over to my dad quickly and, keeping an eye on mask-guy, started to dig him out of the rubble, slapping him a few times to wake him up.

"Ryuu! What are you doing here? This guy is dangerous!" He quickly reprimanded once he saw me. My mom came to my defense though, "He saved me and I think he injured him, honey." Then, as if he was just waiting for this cue, Mask-guy started to chuckle ominously. We watches as the hand cradling his elbow started to glow green! _'Alright... Radiation Man then?... Nah, I like mask-guy.' _

After a few seconds, he stopped glowing and stretched out his arm to taunt us. Then he spoke for the first time since I arrived, it was a hollow sounding voice, and had the effect of two different pitched voices speaking at the same time. **" Hahahaha, don't get ahead of yourself. That was merely a lucky blow, it won't happen again **_**boy**_**."** With a sudden dash, he closed the distance, but found himself having to dodge aside as my dad almost blurred into existence and snapped a kick into where his ribs used to be. His foot still caught Mask-guy's shoulder and sent him spinning into the wall.

He ran over to us and started to push us towards the door. Then, without warning, the ceiling in front of the door suddenly caved in, sending embers from burning timber everywhere and stopping us in our tracks. The chuckling started up again, that double toned, ominous laughter... I was starting to really hate that sound.

We turned around and saw him slowly pacing towards us, that chuckling slowly devolving into insane giggling. **"You can't run, my little runaways... Now prepare to die!"** And with that, he charged forward, a short blade appearing out of his sleeve. I reacted instinctively, my only thought being, _'Man, I am so screwed if that hits this wooden stick'._

Turns out he didn't even care about me as I lashed out. He just sidestepped and kept on going. Next thing I know, I hear a wet, squelching sound and a pained grunt and a half-scream. Fearing the worst, I turned around. My father was kneeling over my mom,the blade sticking out of his chest, but what really got my attention was the hole in hers pumping out her precious lifeblood. All I could do was watch as my mom died in my father's arms, an image that will be forever burned into my memory.

Turns out that my father had tried to protect her, and in doing so, had also received a stab wound to the chest. It had missed anything vital, but it had pierced right through and stabbed her. Mask-guy had backed off and, in between the near insane giggles, cocked his head to the side and let out a fake sounding, **"Whoops, my bad." **I had fallen to my knees next my mom, eyes clouded with tears and chest heaving, desperately trying to staunch the bleeding. My dad just sat there…. _Still_, I mean not even a twitch of a muscle…. He just sat there like a statue with his bowed over her face. With a breathy "I love you both so much," she was gone. Gently, as if she were only asleep, my dad set her down and stepped away towards Mask-guy who's incessant giggling had died down a bit. Stopping five feet from me, he slowly started unbuttoning his shirt, revealing the tattoo that has been on his chest over his heart since anyone could remember. It looked an awfully lot like a Celtic knot, but if you stared at it long enough, its spiraling design had a tendency to start _twisting_. His arms started to move to make weird sign language like symbols, then he ran his thumb through the blood going down his torso, then over the tattoo. All I heard was a mumbled "Fuin: Kai!" before the world exploded into light and chaos.


End file.
